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Republicans in Florida couldn't re-create Trump's November margins, while Musk's efforts in Wisconsin failedDonald Trump and the Republicans ought to be wary of a possible blue wave in next year's midterms. On Tuesday, voters in Florida and Wisconsin signaled dissatisfaction with Elon Musk, the GOP and the president. On the surface, the results spelled political equipoise. No seats changed hands.A closer look, however, reveals possible headaches for Donald Trump and his party. Continue reading...

Kevin Young has been absent since 14 March, weeks before president's order taking aim at anti-American' content

Watching the New Jersey senator hold court for 25 hours felt radical and catharticOne of the problems beleaguering political opponents of Donald Trump has been finding a form of protest that, given the scale of his outrages, doesn't seem entirely futile. You can parade outside a Tesla showroom. You can hold up dumb little signs during Trump's address to Congress inscribed with slogans such as This is not normal" and Musk steals". You can, as Democrats appear to have been doing since the election, play dead.Alternatively, you can go for the ostentatious, performative gesture. On Monday evening, Cory Booker, the Democratic senator for New Jersey who carries himself like someone who'd have been happier in an era when men wore capes, started speaking on the floor of the Senate and carried on for 25 hours and five minutes, breaking the chamber's record by almost 50 minutes and delivering - finally - a solid, usable symbol of rebellion.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

US president's erratic approach has fuelled a dizzying array of tariff measures, before pausing or changing them, prompting a chaotic series of responses

Former Biden health secretary and state attorney general enters race as speculation swirls over Kamala Harris's plans

Democrats seize on result as a referendum on Musk and an emphatic repudiation of Trump's richest supporter and allyDemocrats were tasting unfamiliar triumphalism on Wednesday after the election for a vacant Wisconsin supreme court seat turned into an emphatic repudiation of Elon Musk, Donald Trump's richest supporter and key ally.Musk endured a wave of gloating on Twitter/X, his own social media platform, after Brad Schimel, a Trump-endorsed judge that he spent $25m supporting lost by 10 percentage points to Susan Crawford, whose victory sustained a four-three liberal majority on the court. Continue reading...

Democrats motivated by deep anger from voters who say party isn't doing enough to coalesce around a strategy

Latest security flap again focuses scrutiny on Waltz after he earlier added journalist to Yemen war-planning chat

Judge said Trump officials' push to have case dropped smacks of a bargain' over immigration enforcementA US federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the Department of Justice's corruption case against New York City's embattled mayor, Eric Adams, after weeks of scandal about the Democratic mayor bowing to pressure from the Trump administration to cooperate on immigration crackdowns while trying to get out from under the criminal charges.Despite the judge's decision, he said the Trump administration's grounds for having the case dropped smacks of a bargain". Continue reading...

Texas volunteers had prepared welcome for family fleeing Taliban now stranded in Pakistan in fear of being deportedThe 24-year-old Afghan woman wants to become a surgeon - and she had set her sights on training in the US.She wants to care for other women and girls, so they don't have to be afraid to visit the doctor - so at least in one crucial aspect of their lives they won't have to endure the unwanted advances, dismissive comments and blatant disrespect that she's experienced from many of the men who have always surrounded her, first in her native Afghanistan and now in legal limbo in Pakistan. Continue reading...

Liberal judge says victory is against unprecedented attack on our democracy' after defeating Brad Schimel in the most expensive judicial election in US historySusan Crawford won the race for a seat on the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday, scoring a major victory for Democrats who had framed the race as a referendum on Elon Musk and Donald Trump's popularity.Crawford, a liberal judge from Dane county, defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and conservative judge from Waukesha county, after Musk and groups associated with the tech billionaire spent millions to boost his candidacy in what became the most expensive judicial contest in American history. Continue reading...

The Reserve Bank says they are cautious about the outlook. Caution is fine, but indolence in the face of a challenging world is notLife is like a box of chocolates," said Forrest Gump, who had clearly never looked at the label descriptions on the box. You never know what you're gonna get." And so it was for the RBA on Tuesday when they announced that it was keeping the cash rate steady at 4.1%.Not the actual decision - we all knew they were not going to cut rates. The market on Tuesday morning rated it about a 10% chance but no one was about to go bet their mortgage on it happening. No, the uncertainty was all about what was in the Reserve Bank's statement and what they think is about to come next. Continue reading...

Some seemed nonplussed and said it would make no difference, while others expressed support for Trump's planDonald Trump's liberation day" - his plan to overturn decades of US free trade policy - was getting a mixed reaction in New York on Tuesday.With Trump planning to unleash tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, many said the price rises economists are predicting would make no difference because they were already out of reach of pinched pocketbooks. Others said they would accept short-term price hikes for longer-term US economic well-being. Continue reading...

About 134,000 trans veterans live in the US, with many now blocked from life-saving gender-affirming careWhen Savannah Blake joined the air force at 22 years old, she was looking for stable employment and a way out of poverty. For the last few years of her service, she worked as a cyberdefense operator in the intelligence squadron. But the work, which involved overseeing computers operating drone surveillance, eventually took a toll on her mental health.If I had to watch any more of this, I was going to not be alive anymore," Blake said, who says she experienced suicidal ideations. I just felt like the bad guy. I felt evil." Continue reading...

The temporary restraining order is another setback in less than a week for Trump's immigration crackdownA federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore legal aid to tens of thousands of migrant children who are in the United States without a parent or guardian.The Republican administration on 21 March terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides legal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through a network of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center. Eleven subcontractor groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys; Acacia is not a plaintiff. Continue reading...

Why is the moral panic only ever about younger generations? It's time we heard what confuses or worries them about usEvery generation looks at the next generation, and the one after that, with bafflement and concern. There's probably a name for this phenomenon. That's not to say we (the olds) aren't right to be more worried than ever about what they (the young) are up to. There's a lot for us to be worried about and confused about in equal measure. The TV drama Adolescence got at this. Even having had its emojis and red pills - and emojis of red pills - patiently explained to me, I remain concerned and confused. Mainly confused. It's all decidedly mysterious - and not in a good, exciting way.This intergenerational bewilderment seems only to work in one direction: down, rather than up. We flail around trying to make sense of what's going on with the young. If you are young, this is relevant to you, too, because you will soon be feeling like this about those coming up behind you. What I want to know is what, if anything, baffles the young about the old. Do they get together to express despair and confusion at the conduct of the olds? Is there stroking of chins, scratching and shaking of heads, as they ask: What's going on with elderly people today? I can hardly understand a thing they're saying. I don't know what's going to become of them, I'm sure." Continue reading...

Comments come after it was revealed judge ignored DoJ recommendations against expelling survivors from panelClergy abuse survivors who were ousted from a committee trying to negotiate a settlement resolving the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese's bankruptcy say they have lost their confidence in the judge presiding over the case.Their comments come after it was revealed that Judge Meredith Grabill ignored US justice department recommendations against expelling the survivors from the group, delivering the latest twist in the child sexual abuse scandal roiling one of America's oldest Roman Catholic dioceses. Continue reading...

It is a factually inaccurate and totally, utterly wrong to say that undocumented people are illegal' and are criminals'On 29 January, the second Trump administration held its first White House press briefing. Of the 3,500 arrests Ice has made so far since President Trump came back into office, can you just tell us the numbers?" asked a reporter in the front row. How many have a criminal record versus those who are just in the country illegally?"All of them," responded the new White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, making her debut in the briefing room, because they illegally broke our nation's laws, and, therefore, they are criminals, as far as this administration goes." She continued: I know the last administration didn't see it that way, so it's a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that's exactly what they are."Mehdi Hasan is a broadcaster and author, and a former host on MSNBC. He is also a Guardian US columnist and the editor-in-chief of Zeteo Continue reading...

Ron Klain tells author Chris Whipple then president could not focus and obsessed about foreign leaders, ahead of debate that ended his campaignIn a new book, Joe Biden's former White House chief of staff paints a devastating picture of the then US president's mental and physical state before the debate with Donald Trump that sent his 2024 campaign into a tailspin, resulting in his relinquishing the Democratic nomination to Kamala Harris.Ron Klain served Biden from 2021 to 2023, then returned to his side last June, to run debate preparation as he had for numerous Democratic presidents before. Continue reading...

She left her job when her husband got a shot at VP - only for the couple to be met with the frostiest of receptions in Greenland at the weekendThere are a few people to blame for the fact that JD Vance, a staggeringly unlikable man with a supremely meme-able face, has been thrust into such prominence. The first is Peter Thiel: the tech billionaire who bankrolled Vance's political pivot. The second is Kevin D Roberts, head of the Heritage Foundation and mastermind of Project 2025, who has been an energetic Vance advocate.And the third is Usha Chilukuri Vance, JD's wife. While Usha kept a low profile during the Trump-Vance campaign, trailing after her other half with a smile on her face and a copy of The Iliad in her hand, JD has made her influence clear. In his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, for example, he wrote that Usha helped him navigate Yale and always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn't know existed". Continue reading...

As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the USMNT lack the charisma, underdog charm and striking victories of their predecessorsImagine the 1980 Miracle on Ice, but with the USA on the other side.In this scenario, the US men's hockey team aren't a scrappy band of outmatched amateurs playing for the country perceived as the good guys in the cold war. The opponents aren't an aloof, brutally effective Soviet Union team expected to steamroll their way to a gold medal just as their military were attempting to steamroll their way through Afghanistan. Continue reading...

A third of the league is tanking with a third of the season remaining, creating a lose-lose situation for the NBA, its fans and TV partners. What's the fix?The Toronto Raptors aren't new to losing. But they are new to whatever this is.After taking over as the Raptors' president of basketball operations in 2013, Masai Ujiri refused to embrace the blatant, in-your-face tanking that Sam Hinkie and the process" Philadelphia 76ers were busy popularizing during that same era, instead opting to build from the middle. I'm not sure the karma is great when you do stuff like that," Ujiri said about tanking. We're not doing that here," he later added. Continue reading...

Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65 from pneumonia, his daughter told the New York Times. Here are some of his most famous roles in film

Democrats have appeared lame and leaderless for 72 days, but then Cory Booker stood up and did somethingWould the senator yield for a question?" asked Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.Senator Cory Booker, who on a long day's journey into night had turned himself into the fighter that many Democrats were yearning for, replied with a wry smile: Chuck Schumer, it's the only time in my life I can tell you no." Continue reading...

After a decade of conflict, loss is constant, as is fear for our children's future. But we are more than thisA decade of war in Yemen has left us in a place we never could have imagined. Our biggest worries were once exams, work and weddings. Today, we live with the weight of constant fear. You wake to the sound of explosions or the silence of grief, leave your home uncertain if you will return, look at your child and wonder what kind of future awaits.Yet life goes on. We carry our losses, our broken hearts, our grief, and we continue. Ten years of war, ten years of mourning, of learning to survive with a lump in our hearts. Continue reading...

Judge Susan Crawford's win in the supreme court race means the liberals keep a 4-3 ideological majorityThe liberal judge Susan Crawford won the race for a seat on the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday in a closely watched election. It is a major win for Democrats who had framed the race as a litmus test for Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's popularity.Crawford, from Dane county, defeated Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general and conservative judge from Waukesha county, after Musk and groups associated him spent millions to boost his candidacy in what became the most expensive judicial contest in American history. Continue reading...

Cory Booker, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, spoke on the Senate floor for more than 25 hours, the longest speech ever given in Senate history. Starting his speech on Monday evening in Washington, vowing to remain on the Senate floor as long as he was 'physically able', Booker spoke in protest at what he called the 'grave and urgent' danger that Donald Trump's presidential administration poses to democracy and the American people. In 1957, Strom Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina, gave an anti-civil rights speech that lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes

Randy Fine beats Josh Weil in Mike Waltz's former district, and Jimmy Patronis wins seat vacated by Matt GaetzRepublicans on Tuesday won special elections for two US House of Representatives seats in Florida vacated by Donald Trump's cabinet nominees, dashing Democratic hopes for an upset victory in the first federal special elections held since the president began his second term.But Democratic candidates Josh Weil and Gay Valimont are on track to lose the solidly red districts by much smaller margins than the more than 30 points that Democrats lost them by in November. Continue reading...

Just 100 extremely wealthy families invested $2.6bn during the election cycle that put Trump back in the White HouseBillionaires spent record amounts during the 2024 federal election, according to a new analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of more than 420 national, state and local organizations advocating for economic reforms.The report's findings show that during the election cycle that put Donald Trump back in the White House and seated Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, just 100 extremely wealthy families invested $2.6bn - an amount more than double what billionaire donors contributed just four years prior. Continue reading...

Oscar Arias, 84, who won Nobel peace prize in 1987, said US president was behaving like a Roman emperor'Former Costa Rican president and Nobel winner Oscar Arias said on Tuesday that the US had revoked his visa to enter the country, weeks after he criticized Donald Trump on social media saying he was behaving like a Roman emperor".Arias, 84, was president between 1986 and 1990 and again between 2006 and 2010. A self-declared pacifist, he won the 1987 Nobel peace prize for his role in brokering peace during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s. Continue reading...

In speech that began Monday night, Democratic senator warns of grave and urgent' danger of Trump administration

Jerry Nadler of New York says president weaponizing real pain American Jews face to advance desire to wield control'

Nina Jankowicz, who led DHS's disinformation unit under Biden administration, pointed to restrictions under TrumpA Capitol Hill hearing held to explore supposed government censorship under Joe Biden was based on a fiction", a leading expert on countering online disinformation told members of Congress on Tuesday.Nina Jankowicz, head of the American Sunlight Project, a pro-democracy organization, went on the offensive at a House of Representatives foreign relations subcommittee meeting held to examine the existence of an alleged censorship industrial complex", which Republicans claim was established to stifle rightwing views on social media, rather than combat foreign propaganda, as officially stated. Continue reading...

Small group of Republican lawmakers help Democrats to obstruct key procedural motion in setback for GOPAn attempt by Republican leaders to stop new parents from voting by proxy sparked a bipartisan mutiny in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, during which a small group of GOP lawmakers joined with all Democrats to obstruct a key procedural motion and paralyze the chamber.The revolt was the first legislative setback Republicans have faced since Donald Trump returned to the White House with the GOP holding a slim majority in Congress's lower chamber. It also delayed consideration of House speaker Mike Johnson's legislative agenda for the week, which included a bill to stop federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions - as several have done for Trump's executive orders - and to require proof of citizenship to vote. Continue reading...

Republican defections would amount to rare public rebuke as concerns mount over impact of president's plans

Rolling Stone interviews with 10 people reveal claims that Jeremy Lewin threatened a girl with a knife and openly shared racist views

Unofficial Trump adviser's cost-cutting team to finalize shuttering the foreign aid agency on which millions depend

Data says 34% of those in US stopped purchasing breakfast staple and won't buy again until costs lower to $5 a cartonAs egg prices have reached record highs, about a third of American consumers have stopped buying them in response to the rising costs, a new study suggests.According to research from Clarify Capital, 34% of Americans have stopped purchasing eggs as prices for the breakfast staple are becoming less affordable. On average, these consumers say they won't begin buying eggs again until costs come down to $5 or less for a carton. Continue reading...

Mangione, 26, accused of carrying out premeditated assassination' of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian ThompsonFederal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the man accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said on Tuesday.Bondi said in a press release that she had directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty" for Luigi Mangione, 26, because he allegedly committed a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America". The move, Bondi notes, was in an effort to carry out President Trump's agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again". Continue reading...

Andry Jose Hernandez Romero sent to an El Salvador prison after claim crown' tattoos proved he was a gang memberFor as long as anyone can remember Andry Jose Hernandez Romero was enthralled by the annual Three Kings Day celebrations for which his Venezuelan home town is famed, joining thousands of fellow Christians on the streets of Capacho to remember how the trio of wise men visited baby Jesus bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh.At age seven, Andry became a Mini King, as members of the town's youth drama group Los Mini Reyes were known. Later in life, he tattooed two crowns on his wrists to memorialise those carnival-like Epiphany commemorations and his Catholic roots. Continue reading...

The US president's attack on the Smithsonian isn't about truth. It's about erasure, and erasure is violence'Last week, Donald Trump issued another executive order, this one aimed directly at the Smithsonian Institution, and called for Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History". He contended that the Smithsonian had come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology" and that it advocates narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive". Specifically, the order targeted American history and art that focused on stories of race and racism.Being responsible for the distillation of the nation's narrative is no small thing. The Smithsonian oversees 21 museums, libraries, research centers and the National zoo. Every year millions of people visit various sites that are free to the public. The collection of museums represents the pinnacle of public history and the story America tells the world about itself. Continue reading...

Amber Ruffin skewers journalists who canceled her appearance, mocking their subservience to TrumpA comedian whose skit for White House reporters was canceled for fear of upsetting Donald Trump skewered the journalists who dropped her in a biting late-night talk show routine mocking their perceived subservience to the president.I thought when people take away your rights, erase your history and deport your friends, you're supposed to call it out. But I was wrong," Amber Ruffin said during a brief appearance Monday on NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers. Continue reading...

Official says Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, who lived in Maryland with his wife and child, is in El Salvador prison due to oversight'

Amendments pushed by Republican Jeff Landry on crime, courts and finances resoundingly defeated in voteLouisiana voters soundly rejected four constitutional amendments championed by the Republican governor, Jeff Landry, related to crime, courts and finances.Voters said no to each amendment by margins exceeding 60%, according to preliminary results the secretary of state's office released after voting concluded on Saturday evening. Continue reading...